PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission has arrested three officials of the Elementary Education Foundation over the Rs80 million embezzlement.

The suspects include former managing director of the EEF Ahmad Khan, budget officer Mohammad Ali and driver Fahim.

Some other suspects are expected to be rounded up soon.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, the Ehtesab Commission said the money had been illegally deposited in the personal account of the driver.

According to the KPEC, all suspects had opened the account in violation of the government policy and thus, causing a huge loss to the kitty. They will be produced to the accountability court today (Thursday) to seek their custody for further interrogation. Some other people including officials of the relevant bank will also be arrested after seeking permission from the State Bank of Pakistan.

The foundation was established in 2010 for the improvement of schools in the province but the suspects allegedly misappropriated its funds.

Also, the KPEC has recovered Rs6.5 million from a contractor in lieu of income tax.

Spokesman for the KPEC Akbar Zaman told Dawn that the commission had received complaints about irregularities in food department leading to the launch of inquiry.

He said the investigator had found out that the food department made payment to wheat suppliers in violation of the rules without income tax deduction. The spokesman said under the Income Tax Ordinance, suppliers were bound to pay 3.5 percent income tax to the government.He said following the investigation, the income tax department recovered Rs6.5 million from contractors and deposited it in the kitty.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2016